''Cossinia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of four species of

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

trees, constituting part of the plant family

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include Aesculus, horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The ...

. The genus has a disjunct distribution, occurring in

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

, Australia,

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. They grow naturally in rainforests, including seasonally drought–prone rainforests, and associated non–fire–adapted vegetation types. ''Cossinia trifoliata'' trees, endemic to New Caledonia, have become vulnerable to global extinction according to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN)'s 1998 assessment. ''Cossinia australiana'' trees, endemic to restricted habitat areas of central-eastern and southeastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, have the official national and Queensland state governments' "endangered" conservation status. Within their known endemic region the trees grow naturally in habitats which have historically had their native vegetation extensively destroyed and have been further threatened.

Naming and classification

The genus was first described in 1786 by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

in ''

Encyclopédie Méthodique The ''Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières'' () was published between 1782 and 1832 by the France, French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's wife, Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse. Arranged by ...

: Botanique''. The publication includes descriptions of the species ''Cossinia pinnata'' and ''C. triphylla'', named earlier by

Philibert Commerson Philibert Commerson (; 18 November 1727 – 14 March 1773), sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769. ...

. In 1982 Australian botanist Sally T. Reynolds formally described the new species name ''Cossinia australiana'', recognised that ''C. triphylla'' is a synonym of ''C. pinnata'' and updated Ludwig A. T. Radlkofer's species identification key to include all four currently accepted species.

Species

* '' Cossinia australiana'' – central–eastern to southeastern Queensland endemic, Australia * '' Cossinia pacifica'' – Fiji endemic * '' Cossinia pinnata'' , syn.: ''C. triphylla'' –

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

–Mascarene Islands endemic (Indian Ocean) * '' Cossinia trifoliata'' , syn.: ''Melicopsidium trifoliatum'' – New Caledonia endemic – Vulnerable

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2713481 Dodonaeoideae Sapindaceae genera Sapindales of Australia Taxa named by Philibert Commerson Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck